New owner with an interesting tale...

:welcome:

 

Hey! Best of Luck with your new car!!! Welcome!

 

A friend of mine rebuilt wrecks. They ended up better than new as they were fully welded along the wreck lines. As long as it drives fine and does not wear tires it will be fine.

My sister bought one of his salvages, an Olds Delta 88 and got an extra 140K over the 30K it had on it. She saved 10K.

If it's done right, it's a good buy.

 

$18K is a lot for a salvage. The warranty is void.

 

I wouldn't touch that car with a ten foot pole. Salvaged cars are salvaged for good reason. Shopping for cars with my teens, we've come across a few great 'deals'. Turned out all were salvaged. Still glad I passed them up.

I know people have bought many a salvaged car. Otherwise they wouldn't be on the market as frequently as they are. It just will never be me who buys them. The warranty is void. Period. Not just on the part of the car that was damaged. Salvage is salvage. Frankly, I'm wondering if the OP is a salvager. This story doesn't add up in my mind. Just my opinion, of course.

 

As long as the Prius isn't flood salvaged, it will last into next decade with minimal maintenance. But your warranty is 100% voided unfortunately. Just be glad there is a very small probability of ever using the warranty in the first place with a Toyota.

 

I would say that is a beautiful story. :cheer2:
I especially like the parts about the scummy salesman and the upright service technician.
I truly hope you and your Prius are very happy together.

 

Of course the OP took a risk.

But they are fully aware of the risk they are taking. Outside of finding out the warranty is void....

Yes, personally? I wouldn't of taken that risk. But the OP is so damn happy. So what do you do but say "Good Luck"?

What would of made me really nervous was the sellers misrepresentation. He was not forthcoming in telling the OP it was a salvage title and that it had been purchased at auction. My instinct is you don't hide something unless you have something to hide.

But I sincerely hope for the OP it turns out it was more stealing cookies from the cookie jar, and less trying to grab moldy cheese from the mouse trap.

 

A "Salvage" or rebuild branding on the title greatly affects the resale value of the vehicle.
Accepted practices at most dealerships is to deduct 50% of book value for the branding.
In other words, a car with a book value of $22k would be valued at $11k if branded.

That being said, salvage branded vehicles can be great values. If your intent is to keep a car for many years and get as many miles out of as possible you couldn't care less about resale value. If you're the kind that trades every three years you'll take a bath.

Gussomer you sound like you're the perfect buyer for salvage vehicles. You did careful research on the damage, had a pre-purchase inspection done, you keep vehicles a long time and then recycle them to family members. As said many times on this list, the Toyota factory warranty is rarely used. Their cars are that well made.

Enjoy your new car and welcome to the list.

 

Usually an insurance company won't total a car unless the repair costs 51% or more of the value of the car.

 

As usual, we had tons of snow last august, so since it was the front and it was totaled a blind guess would be they slid into an intersection and/or another vehicle on the ice.

 

I wish OP decades of worry free driving. His story did make me wonder though, is it possible for an individual to track down the insurance report that lead to the car being totaled ?

 

If the crash occurred as recently as August 2010 then it's very possible to get a copy of the report by contacting the Colorado Department of Revenue.

How to Find an Accident Report in Colorado | eHow.com